Mold insert block



p 1957 K. c. DEN DOOVEN, JR 2,807,065

MOLD INSERT BLOCK Filed Oct. 12, 1956 FIG. 2

FIG. 4

INVENTOR K,CAMILLE DEN DOOVE N JR. 8%.; all? MMEA ATTORNEYS MOLD INSERT BLOCK ;K..1Camille Den-Bowen, In, Anaconda, Mont, ass gnor to The; A con a .Gomp ny,;a-. orp rati nef-M ntana Application October '12, '1956,Serial'No. 615,591

2 Claims. {61;22-1136) This :invention relates to molds for toasting copper ran- .odes rhaving rears integrally formed therewith, .and more iparticularlyrto iirnprostements in insert blocks incorporated in such :molds Ito deflnea portion of the-anode ears.

In the electrolytic refining of copper a succession of flat, rectangular, unrefined copper anodes is suspended alternately between a coextensive succession .of flat cathode plates .within the electrolytic cell tank. Each anode is commonly supported by a pair of cats projecting outwardly from either side of the upper end thereof. One ear rests on a conductive suspension .bar which is electrically connectedioa positivepole, while-the opposite ear rests on a strip of dielectric material. The suspension bar and the dielectric strip are longitudinally disposed along the upper edge of the respective side walls of the rectangular cell tank.

In order to reduce power losses in the electrolytic process and to refine the maximum number of anodes in the cell tank at one time, the spacing between adjacent anodes and cathodes is kept at a minimum. This, of course, entails the risk of inadvertently making contact between an anode and its adjacent cathode and short-circuiting the cell, but if the anodes are of uniform configuration without any projecting irregularities, this danger is negligible. However, most anodes in the as-cast condition are not of adequate uniform configuration to prevent the risk of short-circuiting, due to flash which often projects from that face of the anode which is uppermost during casting, particularly in the vicinity of the anode ears.

Formation of such flash is an obvious disadvantage of the conventional anode casting operation, but prior to the present invention it was considered unavoidable in a practical commercial scale operation. Such operation involves casting the anodes in mold blocks having shallow horizontal mold cavities having the outline of the anodes to be cast therein. A pair of ear-defining channels are included in the mold cavity adjacent one end thereof. A removable insert block is incorporated into each ear-defining channel to define one non-vertical side surface :of the anode car. This surface, incidentally, is the lower abutting face of the car which rests on either the suspension bar or the dielectric material when the anode is operatively positioned in the cell tank. The mold cavity is generally open and the operator simply pours the molten copper directly into the cavity until the mold has been filled to the desired level. Conventional wheel or straightline conveyor systemsare commonly utilized to successively index each mold to its proper position under the pouring spout of the ladle of molten copper.

When the molten copper floods into the ear-defining.

channels during pouring, it laps upwardly against the side surfaces of the channels, and often solidifies quickly above the eventual level of the cast metal due to the relatively low volume of metal contained in the channel. Thus a flash of rapidly cooled copper is formed which projects upwardly about the upper periphery of the anode car 2,807,065 1C6 Patented Se t. 24, 19,57

formation of dash. -It necesszu-g to remove .flash from the anode ears before suspending :the anodes ah tween the cathodes init e .cell tank, soas .to preclude ;the -possibility of a shortcircuit. This .is generally done manually. I

It has been found that the amountofobjectinnatblyprojecting flash formed about the periphery of .the .main :body' of the anode i ne l gible Cri iqa g s o :tion'is limited almost solely to the anode ears. si tthis invention contemplates an improved ,insert ,iblock which not only. defines the required -non-vertic al :side surfaces of the anode 162113, but also .totally prevents formation of :flashon-the ears. ,a result,..;only a bare minimum of manual flash remova is neces a y t iready .the anodes for the electrolytic cell tanks when the a'nodes are cast in, a mold including this novel insert -.bl,0 k.

:In addition to thesubstantieflr prismati bo y Por ion characteristic iQfl-the old :insert block, the i ert block-of this inventionincludesa laterally extending .cover ad pted to substantially overlie the ear-defining phanneland to confine the upper surface of the ear cast therein. 'flhus, :the :molten copper. flood ng .into .the chann l be om enclosed not only downwardlvand laterally, but; also .1

' .wardly,ftherebypreventingformation of afl shofqrapidly within the mold. Indexing of the mold before cooling further agitates the molten copper and causes additional ,cooledcopper about'the upper periphery of the ear- The invention will be :more .elearly understood from the :following description which :refers :to the d wing wherein Fig. 1 is a view substantially in perspective of an anode mold with anode cast therein and with the new insert blocks in the ear-defining channels, prior to removal of the cast anode;

Fig. 2 is a view substantially in perspective of one of the insert blocks removed from the mold;

Fig. 3 is a view substantially in perspective and on an enlarged scale of the cast anode car after removal of the anode from the mold; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Referring first to Fig. l, a horizontal mold block 1, usually of copper, defines a shallow mold cavity 2 having substantially the outline of the anode 3 cast therein. Ex-

tending laterally from either side of the rectangular body' portion of the shallow mold cavity 2 are a pair of even shallower ear-defining channels in which removable insert blocks 4 and 5 are placed. Due to the symmetry of the anode 3 about its longitudinal axis, the insert blocks 4 and 5 are similar rather than identical. It has been found convenient to attach a handle 6 to each insert block to facilitate manual handling thereof.

In Fig. 2 the insert block 4 is shown in detail removed from the mold. The block comprises a substantially prismatic body 7 having an integral laterally extending cover portion 8 substantially identical in outline to the eardefining channel. received in the channel, with the lower portion of the prismatic body 7 thereof lodging within a receiving groove on the bottom of the ear-defining channel of the mold, and with the cover portion 8 substantially completely filling the upper portion of this channel, as can be seen most clearly in Figs. 1 and 4. It is to be noted that the thickness of .the cover portion 8 tapers somewhat from a maximum adjacent the outer extremity of the anode ear to a minimum adjacent where the inner end of the anode ear adjoins the body portion of the anode, in order to avoid entrapment of air during casting of the anode.

' Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the downwardly extending non-vertical face 9 of the prismatic body 7 of the insert defines an oblique planar surface 10 on the anode ear 11, illustrated in Fig. 3 after removal from the mold. The necessity of a removable insert block is apparent. in view of the downward and outward slope of this oblique planar Thus the insert block is adapted to be,

surface 10. The thickness of the anode ear 11 tapers very slightly from a minimum at its outer end to a maximum adjacent the anode body, in conformity with the taper on the cover portion 8 noted above.

In Fig. 4, the exposed upper surface of the anode 3 cast within the mold block 1 is shown by the upper dotted line. It can be seen here that with the insert block 4 in position in the ear channel of the mold, the lower surface of the cover portion 8 is below the elevation of the exposed upper surface of the anode 3. Hence the lower surface of the cover portion 8 confines the upper surface of the anode ear 11. This results in the slight difference in thickness between the body of the anode and the anode ear shown in Fig. 3,

When using insert blocks of this character heretofore employed in the ear-defining channel, the molten copper laps upwardly against the side surfaces of the channel as it floods therein, and often forms a highly undesirable flash of rapidly cooled copper extending laterally from the periphery of the ear. The novel insert blocks of the present invention, however, prevent formation of such flash on the anode ear in consequence of the confinement they impose on the molten copper flowing into the eardefining channel.

I claim:

1. A mold for casting copper anodes having ears formed integrally therewith for supporting the anode in an electrolytic cell tank, comprising a mold block defining a shallow mold cavity having substantially the outline of the anode to be cast therein, said mold cavity including a pair of ear-defining channels adjacent one end thereof,

and a pair of removable insert blocks configured to be received in said channels, each of said insert blocks being formed to define at least one surface of an anode ear cast in the channel in which said block is received, and said blocks each being formed with a laterally extending cover portion adapted to substantially overlie such channel and to confine the upper surface of the anode ear cast therein, whereby formation of a flash of rapidly cooled copper about the upper periphery of said anode cars is prevented.

2. An insert block for use in casting copper anodes having ears formed integrally therewith in a mold comprising a mold block defining ashallow mold cavity and having ear-defining channels adjacent one end thereof, said insert block being configured to be received in one of said ear-defining channels and being formed to define at least one surface of an anode ear cast in such channel, and said block being formed with a laterally extending cover portion adapted to substantially overlie such channel and to confine the upper surface of the anode ear cast therein, thereby to prevent formation of a flash of rapidly cooled copper about the upper periphery of said anode ear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Clark June 23, 1931 Pierce July 17, 1934 

